Pearl Harbor: VS Found & Packaging Problems

Hey everybody I've been reading the forums for a little while now and decided to Join.... FINALLY...and i am glad to be apart of this dysfunctional family.
ANYWAYS, onto the subject. Well I have read all about the "major department store" that recieves movies early. I read a lot of threads with people finding things early and said to myself "Wow, it would be cool to find stuff like that." Well I never found anything in what is my town's "Major Department Store Supercenter Super uh...place"
Ahem...but the Pharmacy with those familiar first three letters has in the last week become a strange haven for things popping up early.
First it was A Beautiful Mind in FULL SCREEN(EVILLLL)
showing up last Sunday...but last night lo and behold the Pearl Harbor Vista Series is out on the Counter!
It was $39.99 for all of those that are curious.
But the Bad Side of this is that the packaging may have really bad problems in a lot of cases. This thing is best described as an overstuffed turkey. And in pretty much all the copies I saw, the package was bloated in the middle. The spine if i can describe it right...had been flattened a little with the back end crease sticking out.
Now you can say...hey that could be shipping...but the ones that looked close to being what I assume is normal, still had this problem in an annoying "this looks like crap on my shelf look."
So think of your copy of Fight Club with two more disks , some tiny postcards and a booklet..with a buckle and lots more stuff thown in. and then a see through slipcase...no top to this slipcase folks, so let the dust bunnies in.
Yes we all saw Ron's Pics of the set...and yes it is wonderful looking, but HORRIBLY thought out. In the process of the plastic being put on along with shipping a lot of you maybe SERIOUSLY ticked when you see it. Hopefully everyone can find a pretty decent copy.
This is in no way a Favorite film of mine....but ILM's work is amazing and i see this as a pure popcorn flick. The set can't be passed up by any of us in terms of content.
My big worry and hope with this is that our Beloved Fellowship of the Ring in November will not be made like this. Yes all of the pics of that set look amazing and my gut tells me it will be okay...Hoping New line has more of a head than Disney in this matter.
I wanted to let All of you guys about this situation and it's a bummer.
Nice to be here with you all...thanks!

Hey Eric, let me be the first to welcome you to the forum. I consider myself to be somewhat of a packaging nut, but I loathe PH so I could really couldn't care less. As for FOTR, I have confidence the packaging will be fine, but it could come in a freaking jewel case and I wouldn't be too pissed, cause it would still be 4 discs of FOTR goodness. I just made a huge contradiction and made a real ass outta myself, but it's late, I just had surgery, I'm drugged up, so give me a break.

"Old theatres are irreplaceable. They could never be duplicated at today's costs - but more importantly, their spirit could not be duplicated because they remind us of a day when going to the show was a more glorious and escapist experience. I think a town's old theatres are the sanctuary of...

The packaging does BULGE a little bit, but all around... it is a nice little package. I think the worst thing is that the discs are housed in a series of cardboard sleeves (which could scratch the discs after a while). Nice package though... and probably the most extensive SE ever!

Welcome to the Forum!
I have *not* been fortunate enough to find this early in any stores, but then again maybe that's "fortunate" if you consider that I might save money getting it on sale come Tuesday!
Your review of the packaging's possibly long-term deficiency is well-thought-out and written, with specific examples. Thank you for the information.
As for LotR:TFotR...I think it will be a different situation. New Line's package design for the 4-disc set seems to be roomier-looking and more secure around all four edges. Of course, until I hold it in my hands I can't tell for sure. About the 5-disc set with the bookends: me and the missus just CANNOT figure out where the fifth disc is going in that package! It's driving us nuts, I tell you......
Again, welcome!

Just saw this last night at work. After rummaging around the back looking for it I gave up and thought it just hadn't come in yet. Then lo and behold I see someone already put it out on the shelf (Too bad I'm dead broke). My work has been doing that alot lately. Must got a new guy working the department or something. When I was looking at it I didn't really notice a bulge in the packaging.

Well, I got disc one out to watch it... and the darn thing had a HUGE blob of glue stuck onto it. I couldn't get it off with my regular DVD cleaning methods, so back to... uh... anonymous discounted deeply DVD online retailer (who also provided a free return-postage label)